WALKING AROUND THE NATIONAL MALL, WASHINGTON DC

The walking expedition in Washington D.C. started on the second day. I was lucky enough as I had company during the trip, Mr. Rudy, a student who is the son of my friend's friend and his aunty from Singapore. We went to the National Mall which actually is a very large place with monuments, museums and memorial parks in it. There were many people on that day, mostly school kids going on their summer school trips. The place was too large that we only managed to cover like 25% of it within the 4-hour walking trip. The day was cloudy so the pictures from my compact digital camera did not turn out beautiful enough.

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

the landmark in the skyline

visible from almost everywhere

The Washington Monument was built to commemorate the first President of the USA, George Washington. This structure could be seen from many parts of the city. According to Pn.Khairul, people could go up the monument last time but we just could go as near as possible to the obelisk structure.

 

WORLD WAR ll MONUMENT

the entrance

The World War ll Memorial was built for all the soldiers who were involved in the World War ll. There were pillars, flags and fountains with carved texts on the walls and this should symbolize the sacrifice done for the country, I guess.

KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL

 

The next spot we discovered was dedicated to the Korean war veterans, hence the name. There were flower wreaths and bouquets because it was the Memorial Day holiday is the US two days before. Anyhow, this is one place I won't come alone at night - it was too solemn, too spooky. If you look at the statues, you could see the sadness and misery on their faces.

VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL

  

Due to its involvement in other countries' affairs and wars, there are many war memorials. This one was meant for the people who fought the war in Vietnam.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL

The monument that was specially built for President Abraham Lincoln. The gigantic statue of the president had appeared in many American movies and TV series but the one I remember the most is from "The Night at the Museum" (there was a scene involving the statue, right? Now I am getting not sure.)

THE WHITE HOUSE

 

the silent protestors
and the cops

This is a must-visit venue when you are in Washington DC. Even though Mr. Obama was not there to greet the visitors at the fence, a lot of people were crowding the area to get themselves photographed in front of the White House. There was not a single moment not to  have other people appear in your own camera lens.

MADAME TUSSAUD MUSEUM

with Mr. Lincoln himself

Only one person went in. I did not enter the museum because it cost USD22++. At the same time, I had been to the one in London two years ago so there would be anything new.

THE HOUSE WHERE LINCOLN DIED

The place that we found by accident and it was still spooky to me. They should just label the house as "Lincoln's House". And we did not enter this building because of the same reason: it was not free.

So that was all for the second day tour of Washington D.C.  I went back to the National Mall on my own the day after to explore more places there, especially the museums. Later, there will be more pictures of majestic buildings that I saw around the city.